Not too late for the World Marmalade Festival 2011 - nr Penrith

Seville orange time means marmalades at the beautiful home and gardens at Dalemain for the World Marmalade Festival on Sat 12th & Sun 13th Feb

You have until 6th Feb to participate & get your golden jars into the post.

If you need a recipe, Dan Lepard has posted an excellent one on the Beeb:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/medium-cut_seville_70291

Mine's made at last, 2 types this year, going into the Merry section 8, and the Inventive section 11.

I had trouble with the Italiano Galliano, when added to the hot marmalade it was like Ricard, it lost it's translucency.
So I made my own.
Marmalade water infused with liquorice root and star anise.  
plus home-made vanilla extract added after the setting point is reached. 


& I had more trouble with the duck à l'orange.  
The roasted duck stock was murky.
I tried the consommé tip to clarify it using an egg white, but it was Heston who came to the rescue, by freezing the stock and defrosting it untouched through a muslin.

Jars painted & labels made with my Pogo portable printer

& I made a painting yesterday afternoon of the Seville orange.

See you at Dalemain on Sunday if you are going.  

Good luck.

 

vegan filo purses, but so much more

White bean-filled filo purse over soft garlic polenta

with porcini-Zinfandel sauce, broccoli rabe and grilled pear

I still feel this is the best meal I've cooked, 

a vegan dish which comes from Eric Tucker's "The Artful Vegan" with his permission.

It beats any roast dinner, but be warned, it takes a morning or afternoon to prepare,
but isn't difficult 

you can buy the seitan sausages, and use powdered bouillon if you wish

Print out 5 stages (makes 6-8)

1. ingredients list
2. spicy fennel seitan sausages
3. vegan stock
4. cashew cream
5. method 

method

1. prep - print out 5 pages, & make

vegan stock, seitan sausages & the cashew sauce
 

2. the sauce
sauté the shallots and garlic in evoo, and add the mushrooms & salt and cook till browned
add in the herbs and wine
then the stock, tamari & balsamic and cook gently till reduced by half
make a roux with the flour and vegetable oil, cooked out for 10-15mins and add half to your reduced stock
simmer gently for 5mins, and add more roux if you need to thicken the sauce consistency
add salt and pepper and strain

3. the purse filling and the purses
sauté the onion garlic carrot and fennel
add thyme sage and mushrooms & cook for 2 mins, before adding the marsala
pour in the stock & the chopped seitan
simmer for 10 mins to remove all liquid
cool and add nutmeg, (optional add truffle oil)

brush & stack 6 sheets filo with vegetable oil
cut into quarters
repeat for 8 squares
fill the squares with the white bean & seitan ingredients mix, and close your parcels tightly into purses
bake for 25 mins on parchment

4. the polenta 

bring your stock to the boil, and the polenta and turn the heat down.
cook whilst stirring for 20mins
rest, & add the garlic, nutritional yeast & cashew cream, herb salt and pepper

5. the greens

sauté your choice of greens with all the ingredients till soft

6. the pears

mix ingredients in a bowl & sauté or grill your pear slices for 2mins either side

serving

first the polenta & sauce

January food

I don't seem to be pushing myself at the moment,  so I thought I'd get the pasta machine out.

I asked Tony what he wanted, pappadelle?  tagliatelle?  angel hair?  spag......
Tagliatelle it is!  all ammatriciana

I've been watching Zen set in Rome, so I thought I'd dim the lights a little

 ingredients onion, guanciale or lardon cubes, balsamic, passata and pecorino cheese
& cook the pasta for 3mins10secs

New breadmaking? 

I converted Dan Lepard's recipe for chickpea bread to a sourdough

How old is that chickpea flour, Gill!

and made a tortilla sandwich

Lamb?

Put in lamb leg, potatoes, rosemary, garlic, water & wine @130 for 4hrs, untouched

and also got to chat for a few hours with my bread friend Joanna at Zeb Bakes, at a new African themed place called Cafe el Bahdja in Gloucester

Harmony!

over mint tea, lentils and an omelette broth

we end with Zen again.

Cafe El Bahdja is at

59-61 Westgate Street

Gloucester

GL1 2NW

http://www.elbahdja.co.uk/

Why I'm called Grilly

 
Forget the diets and detox ingredients that jab at our conscience during January.

Dribble your food with evoo, & salt and pepper, and flash or bake it under the burners of your grill.

I do so enjoy grilled food ..........

Butchers pork chop, grilled potato cake and a sage sauce